Between the Lines
by the-dramatic-harmonica
Summary: Sam can't help but fall for Mercedes, though because he's down on his luck, he asks Rachel to help him take Mercredes to prom on a budget date. Things get awkward when Jesse shows up.   Like the episode except with more of Sam's feelings . Sam/Merc.
1. Chapter 1

Between the Lines

Sam/ Mercedes.

Disclaimer: Own nothing but my own hair dye to make me more blonde.

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><p>She was confident, fierce, fashionable and beautiful. He couldn't help but think he didn't deserve her. He was the nerd, the silly kid hiding behind his bottle dyed hair and his football jersey. He couldn't help but think he'd never stand a chance.<p>

Then last week, when everyone thought he was fooling around with Quinn or Kurt, he had wondered if she was jealous even for a second. He had thought about her, he actually had played the idea of asking her out over in his mind again and again. But who would say yes to him? He was living in a motel. He couldn't afford most things, let alone a tux and prom tickets. He couldn't imagine how bad she had felt for him. How she had wanted to do something for him, to make it alright. Sending prayers and hope his way, wishing that his situation would improve. She even had considered singing a song in glee for him but had decided against it for some reason.

Then with prom approaching, he had been more nervous to talk to her. Scared that his situation affected how people talked to him and looked at him. He had appreciated their gesture to the point of tears, his guitar had always been the one thing to make him feel great. He had wanted to thank each one of them, but more than that, he wanted to have enough courage to talk to Mercedes.

When she had stormed out of glee he had wanted desperately to go after her, watching Rachel as she followed Mercedes out of the club. He wanted to be more than the guy that dated everyone. He wanted really to be with her.

"Hey" He came up to her. Rachel turned to him with shock, staring at him confused.

"Sam?" She asked. "What's up?" she asked.

"Is everything ok, with um-" he smiled weakly, self conscious of his mouth suddenly.

"How are you?" she asked gently. She really did treat him differently since last week.

"Fine" he muttered, hating the tone she used. "How's Mercedes?" he asked.

She blinked back at him, shocked.

"Fine" she muttered.

"Can you um..." he paused, unable to believe he was even asking this. "Help me with something?" he asked.

"Yes! Of course!" she mumbled. "I have two gay dads, so we know how to cook. We could bring your family food! Quiches! Or Pies! Or I could teach your younger siblings how to tap dance or sing!" she bubbled excitedly. He smiled awkwardly in response.

"No, um" he paused, lowering his voice. Not wanting anyone to hear. "Can you help me take Mercedes to the prom?" he asked.

She stared back at him shocked.

"What?" she asked. "Mercedes?" she specified. He shushed her.

"Why don't you just ask her?" Rachel prompted, shutting her locker.

"She's not going to say yes, I don't even have money for a tux-"

"I'll figure something out" she beamed.

"Don't tell her I asked" he grumbled. "After Quinn, and I'm not exactly cool and the recession thing-"

"Sam, don't worry about it" Rachel offered with a smile. She turned to walk away.

"Thanks" she heard him mumble before she headed off to class.

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><p>They parked in front of her house, Jesse at the wheel. They had picked up him from the street outside the hotel 10 minutes before. Rachel put her hand on the door, ready to leave and go greet Mercedes when Sam spoke.<p>

"Hey, can I go up alone?" Sam asked from the back seat. Rachel nodded with a small smile. He had acted exactly as they had discussed when they had asked him to the prom together: surprised but willing to take them both to prom. A group budget date they had called it. Rachel had promised to ditch them at the prom and told Sam to at least talk properly to Mercedes. That was before Jesse had arrived. Now it was a proper double date and that terrified Sam.

He run the door bell, adjusting the tux and flattening his hair. Wondering how he looked. He remembered when he had first started liking her. It had been the moment when belted Arethra Franklin on the stage. After that, he couldn't stop looking at her, even when she wasn't on stage. Something about that song, everything about her, hit a chord in him and he couldn't return to before. He couldn't believe she had been in front of him all along and he hadn't seen it. He breathed in deeply, preparing himself for her to open the door.

"Yeah, I'll be back before 11" he heard her holler, trying not to grin at the sound of her voice. That voice that could change pitch easily, that filled his heart until it was about ready to explode. He found comfort in it and he wondered if she knew how talented she really was.

She opened the door and he literally had to mentally stop his jaw from dropping. She looked dazzling in the dress and he wanted to say everything to her, but the sentences wouldn't form themselves.

"Hey" she turned. "Where's Rachel?" she asked, surprised that he was on her door step, alone.

"In the car" he stuttered the words."Um, Jesse showed up" he muttered.

"Jesse?" Mercedes specified with a confused air.

"Yeah" Sam muttered, holding the corsage awkwardly in his hand. He had made it with his sister after all. The plastic dollar store flower tacky on the black ribbon.

"This is for you" he extended.

"Aw, that's sweet" Mercedes lit up for a second, flashing him a smile. "Let's go, I'm starving" she commented and he nodded, a side smile appearing for a second.

He wanted to tell her she looked beautiful but he couldn't make the words come out, he hoped he could before the end of the night. He tied the corsage onto her wrist in the back seat of the car, his eyes darting over her features for a moment with a small smile. She thought he was only doing this because he had to.

Mercedes didn't have a clue. She didn't know Sam saw the things she hated about herself and that he liked them. Didn't think for once that he thought about her and wanted to talk to her more. She didn't know anything at all and when she sat at the table, waiting for the time to pass in prom she was genuinely surprised when he came towards her.

"You look beautiful" he murmured and she smiled, never once thinking that he had practiced telling her those words for weeks.

"Can I have this dance?" he asked. She couldn't sense his timidness. Never fathoming that he had to talk himself into it. That he had to muster confidence just to come up to her. She considered rejecting him for a second. Not wanting the pity dance after the pity date. She smiled instead.

"Yeah" she responded with a smile, placing her hand in his. She couldn't sense his nervousness and just watched him dance to the ridiculously upbeat song, enjoying herself and living her prom dream. The song shifted into a slow dance. She looked up at him with a blush, ready to return to her seat. He shrugged, his mouth opening to say something.

"Every girl needs a slow dance" he muttered and she smiled with a timid nod.

"You don't have to" she muttered. He gulped down the words he longed to say and just took her hand in response.

"Alright" she blushed lightly and he placed his other hand on her waist, swaying with her to the music. Wanting desperately to say the things he felt, wondering if she would ever think him worthy enough of her.

"Mercedes-" he began the sentence. But he didn't know what to say? What would he tell her? That she was gorgeous and had the most beautiful voice? That she made his breath catch when she caught his gaze? That sometimes he didn't think she was even real because she was so perfect? He swallowed the words down and just pulled her closer. Afraid of falling for the wrong girl again but more than that, afraid of getting his heart ripped out on prom night.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for reading! Own nothing, all character and song rights go to their respective copy right places.

This story will continue, there is more coming but I have a lot of stories cooking right now, so it might be a bit of a wait.

I welcome comments, critiques and reviews!

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><p>He chickened out of his confession at the last minute, just pulling her closer under the cheesy twinkling lights and hanging colored streamers. He told himself he would ask her out, or he would do something. She had to understand that he wanted her. That he needed her in his life. This was the happiest he had been in months and for once, his financial woes, the burden of caring for his family and the pressure of school seemed to fade away. He didn't care about popularity or nationals, nothing mattered but Mercedes and this moment. He assured himself he would tell her before the night was done. He had to because he didn't think he could bare not to tell her. He couldn't stop thinking of her lips and how badly he wanted to pull her into his arms, how sometimes he couldn't even think around her.<p>

"Hey, so-" he muttered, wondering why he was so nervous, holding her close, but not as close as he wanted to in the awkward slow dance. Perhaps it was only awkward because his nerves were stressing him out to the point of panic. He didn't know what he was about to say, but he knew he had to say something, he didn't want to lose this chance and go back to being off her radar. She just _had _to know.

"Mercedes, I like you" he breathed out, pulling away from the embrace to look into her eyes, to watch her face for a sign that she understood what he was trying to say.

"I like you too Sam, you're cool" She responded lightly. He knew she hadn't understood it. Mercedes built walls around her heart, wishing desperately for love and breaking herself down constantly with her own self esteem so much that when it was really in front of her, she couldn't see it at all. He cleared his throat, he had to make her understand.

"No, I mean-" he began, shaking his head. His bangs swayed in front of his face, making the situation laughable though he felt like he couldn't breathe. Had they taken out the oxygen in the room? Where they drugging him with some sort of nerve racking gas? He took a deep breath in again, but his lungs forced the air out. He literally couldn't breathe. He looked away from her, not able to stand watching her as he put his heart on the line.

"Holy shit" she gasped and he thought for an instant maybe it had hit her, maybe she had understood how much he liked her. He looked back up, expecting her to be smiling or staring at him in shock. Instead, he realized, she was looking at something else entirely. The noise of the room rushed back at him. He hadn't been able to focus on anything but her and now he could hear the fight starting. She pulled away from him to watch the scene starting in the middle of the dance floor. Sam looked away reluctantly, not wanting to go back to unspoken words. He watched in shock as Finn attacked Jesse with his weird jealousy and he couldn't believe moments later when they had been kicked out of prom.

"Oh my god' Mercedes muttered. "Come on," she instructed, heading towards Rachel immediately. He followed without a second's wait, wanting her back in his arms. He wanted desperately to return to the moment before.

"Hey, are you ok?" Mercedes asked, directing the question to Rachel, taking her into a hug. Sam watched silently, adoring how caring Mercedes was. Rachel smiled weakly, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" she muttered and Mercedes nodded.

"Well, you've got us. Budget date, remember?" she grinned. Mercedes couldn't understand why that only made Rachel flash a sad smile to Sam.

"Yeah" Rachel admitted.

"Let's get some punch" Sam muttered, clearing his throat.

If Sam was hurting, Rachel couldn't tell. He was smiling brilliantly and dancing with them both, almost as if forgetting he had been the one to ask her to set up the budget date. He took them both in his arms for the prom photos and Rachel lit up with joy. Sam was actually blinded, not by the camera as they posed for what seemed like a dozen photos, but instead by Mercedes' smile. She laughed beside him, in his arm and he couldn't help but grin watching her. He was sure that in some of the photos he was just staring at her. He tried desperately to hide his looks, but every time he glanced to Rachel, she just seemed to smile sadly to him. She even mouthed _I'm sorry _at one point. She had to remember to thank him afterwards. To really geniunly thank him for sacrificing his moments with Mercedes for her. She felt awful for it, strangley angry at Jesse and Finn for ruining Mercedes' night.

Purple streamers fell from the ceiling as chatter got louder than the music. The seniors took off to their after prom parties as Rachel sat in the chairs with Sam and Mercedes on either side of her. She had seen them dance, but wondered if anything had changed. She desperately wanted to gossip and talk about it with someone. She wasn't that great with keeping secrets, after all.

"You going to Santana's after prom?" Puck asked, approaching the three of them. Rachel shook her head. Though she would allow the occasional night out, she had to wake up at 6 every morning and make sure her daily routine wasn't disturbed. Nothing would get in the way of her dedication to her craft.

"Nah, I gotta be back pretty early" Mercedes shrugged and Puck looked to Sam.

"My mom's got the night shift at this place, I gotta watch my sister and brother." Sam responded and Puck nodded.

"Well I'll see you guys then" Puck waved awkwardly, secretly wishing he was the one that had been kicked out of Prom. It would help his reputation.

As the music died down and the gym thinned out, they agreed to leave. They linked arms and headed out of the gym, laughing as they did so.

"We so excited!" Mercedes teased Sam and he laughed awkwardly, turning red.

"I didn't pick the song, Figgens did" he explained but she just laughed shaking her head. The second they got outside Rachel pulled away from the them as she spotted Jesse sitting on the pavement. Mercedes pulled her arm out of Sam's awkwardly and stood, watching Rachel and Jesse, ready to give more support if needed.

"Hey!" he jumped up immediately. "Rachel, I am so sorry, that was not professional and it was out of control. You know I would never make a scene like that, it's cheap" he explained. "I've been waiting for you" he explained.

"Just take us home Jesse" she responded, walking away.

"Rachel let me explain," Jesse called after her. He followed her to the car, trying to explain as he did so. Sam and Mercedes filled silently into the back.

"We'll drop you off first, ok Mercedes?" Rachel asked.

"Rach, I really am sorry" Jesse muttered with a nod.

"I know, it's ok, we had fun anyway" she promised with a smile. She had a sinking feeling she had ruined everything for Sam and Mercedes.

They arrived at Mercedes place in silence, blasting music on the radio instead of talking. Sam's mind was repeating what he had said on the dance floor and he couldn't help but glance at Mercedes ever so often beside him. She was drowned in thoughts of Prom night and even though it had been amazing, she still felt let down for some reason. Perhaps she had expected more. Rachel was mulling over the fact that she had probably ruined everything, or rather, Finn and Jesse had.

"Ok, thanks, see you guys at school" Mercedes called, ready to get out of the car.

"I'll walk you up" Sam offered, in a sudden burst of confidence.

"Ok...ay" Mercedes muttered with a small smile, exiting the car. He heard Jesse and Rachel start talking the second he had left the car.

Sam wanted to take as much as he could on the drive way, he wanted to remember all of this. They way she looked and glided in that gorgeous dress. The way she had teased him about _Friday_ even though it was a Saturday night. He wanted to make her fairy tale dream come true, and wouldn't walking her to her door on prom night accomplish just that? He walked slowly with Mercedes to her door, trying not the think of Jesse and Rachel in the parked car.

"You've been sweet" she commented. He tried to suppress the smile that yearned to show itself. They walked in step, each movement closer to the door like a ticking bomb waiting to go off. He only had 5 steps left, if that, and the moment seemed to be slipping away from him, again.

"It's nothing" he shrugged with a light laugh, arriving at her doorstep with her. He glanced back to Jesse and Rachel in the car. Panic rising in him again.

"You didn't have to dance with me, or get me this corsage, or take me to this _stupid_ dance" she muttered. She added the word stupid to make it seem like all of this didn't matter to her. She wanted to be stronger than it, to not care about a high school dance. Wanting the fairy tale, never for once seeing that it was in front of her. She couldn't help being attached to the dream and romantic expectations of _prom._ In the end, he had made her dream night come true already, but she had failed to notice why.

"I wanted to" he responded honestly. She clearly didn't believe him. She nodded, flattening out parts of her dress. If she only looked up into his eyes she would be able to see it all there.

"Right, well" she shook her head, trying to erase the fear of being alone. She had told herself she didn't need a man, but seeing all those couples out there just broke her. She swallowed the pain, looking up to him, never for once imagining that he wanted to be the guy for her.

"Look, Mercedes you deserve all those things, everything you want." Sam said suddenly. He wasn't the type of guy to stand back and hide his feelings. Though since Quinn had cheated on him, he had more of a guard up. He had been vulnerable with her and it had hurt, that kind of thing wasn't forgotten easily. It hindered his confidence now and he could barely think. Perhaps it was also that he cared more about Mercedes in these moments, than he had ever with Quinn. He wanted to be something different to Mercedes. Not arm candy or a popular _it_ couple, but something real. She wasn't a fantasy, a plastic barbie doll like Quinn had been, but she was perfect and flawed and kind. He hoped that if she genuinely cared for him, she wouldn't rip his heart out and step on it.

"Yeah, but you don't have to do them all" she responded, shaking her head. Thinking of adding more. Thinking of asking him if it was ok that she wanted all those things. Wasn't she supposed to feel gorgeous and wanted, today of all days? She didn't want to show her insecurity to Sam. She felt like she had no one to talk to about this. Kurt had Blaine and Rachel had Jesse, or Finn, or Puck or Jesse. It seemed that no one would really understand what Mercedes was going through, sure they could give her advice, but in the end, she was alone. She had felt happy for a moment on the dance floor, but had been hit by another wave of sadness. She had hid the wanting that she knew she didn't need to feel behind her smile. She had felt empty all over again. She knew she would have someone, someday, but it just wasn't fair that everyone had someone now and she had _no one._ Everyone seemed to be happier than her, and Sam seemed to be intent on treating her like a charity case.

He wanted to tell her that he wanted to do all those things. That he was pining over her and it was what she always wanted- someone to be intoxicated with her. Someone to be completely utterly consumed by her. How could he tell her all that? Would she even want his words? What would they mean to her? He couldn't stand to see her upset, not when she looked this amazing. Certainly not tonight.

"I want to do those things" he confessed in a soft whisper. She looked up to meet his gaze, her features clouding over with disbelief. She gazed into his eyes and a smile played at the side of her lips. She felt a strange magnetic pull and seemed to detect _something_ in his eyes, but she tried not to analyze it.

"What?" she asked timidly. He came towards her, hoping his movements weren't too obvious. He smiled weakly to the weight of the confession and ran a hand over his bangs, trying to make the nervousness subside.

"You really are beautiful Mercedes" he breathed out, inching closer to her. "You know that, don't you?" he asked softly. She couldn't think, she couldn't comprehend what was happening. This was so different for her, she never believed it would even happen. His eyes were shifting between her eyes and her lips as he leaned closer towards her.

"Sam-" she muttered his name breathlessly, certain that whatever she thought was happening, just could _not_ be happening and even if it was, it was some sick joke, or a dream. Perhaps they were trapped in some strange alternate universe where good things happened to her. Where the popular blonde footballer wanted her. None the less, as much as she tried to fight reality she was very aware that Sam Evans was leaning in to kiss her on her door step for prom night. Her heart picked up speed, her breathing caught and for the life of her, she couldn't look away from his electrifyingly blue eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

_"Sam-" she muttered his name breathlessly, certain that whatever she thought was happening, just could not be happening and even if it was, it was some sick joke, or a dream. Perhaps they were trapped in some strange alternate universe where good things happened to her. Where the popular blonde footballer wanted her. None the less, as much as she tried to fight reality she was very aware that Sam Evans was leaning in to kiss her on her door step for prom night. Her heart picked up speed, her breathing caught and for the life of her, she couldn't look away from his electrifyingly blue eyes._

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><p>Mercedes let her eyes close and took a sharp breath in. Silence filled the air and she could only the hear the sound of her own heart banging in her chest until a loud horn honked. The noise blared in the moment's silence and scared both of them away from each other. Mercedes opened her eyes and pulled away abruptly, unable to look at Sam. Sam glanced back to the car and distintcly heard Rachel shout "JESSE!" in a cross tone, but he paid no attention. He looked back to Mercedes but the moment was assuridly lost.<p>

"Right, well, have a good night" Mercedes said quickly before she disappeared into her house. The door shut in Sam's face and his eyes finally focused on reality. He sighed heavily and shut his mouth, which had been hanging open ever since Mercedes disappeared. He was sure she was on the other side of the door, waiting for him to leave, but he didn't have the slighest clue why he thought so.

He didn't mark this as reality, but all some strange dream. Some nightmare, really. He walked down the drive way like a man defeated. Someone who had seen the young boy approach the door with such nervousness and excitement would not have believed it was the same man now. He looked weary. He couldn't even speak until he was outside the motel and Rachel had apologized a million times.

"I guess it wasn't supposed to happen," he said vaguely, as if in a trance. Rachel could see that he was beating himself up about it, but couldn't make her words of comfort even affect him.

"See you in school," he muttered as he got out of their car and headed towards his motel, replaying every moment that hadn't been repressed, again and again as the thoughts of Mercedes consumed him. But he was used to that.

Mercedes was pacing her room, unable to sit down for more than a minute. She needed to eat something, and she kept glancing to the door as if it would help her, but kept it locked, blasting music to try to think. Yet, she was trying to drown out her thoughts. She hadn't been imaginging things, had she? She desperately wanted to call Rachel and ask, but what would she even say? 'Hi Rach, yeah, did Sam look like he was about to kiss me? Was it a joke?' Mercedes placed her phone on her desk and then turned it off quickly, to not be tempted to use it. She shook her head. She clearly was going insane, there was no way that Sam would actually want her, though she couldn't be sure. She wondered if perhaps he did. She made up her mind to dress well on Monday and see if anything had changed, if Sam acted differently. Or perhaps the blonde popular bastard was intent on treating her like a charity case and pitying her with dances and sweet words and kisses. If that was the case, she was sure she hated him. Yes, what gave Sam Evans the right to think she wanted to be kissed by him at all? But Mercedes found that was the problem, she _did_ want that. More than she had wanted anything in a long time and it only took her tonight to realize it. She dreaded the familiar symptoms of an oncoming crush. She was sure this one, like the last, would only be a giant misunderstanding and would end in heartbreak. Though as usual, it would only be her own.

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><p>"I am so sorry," Rachel approached Sam on Monday.<p>

"I know, you said on Saturday," Sam responded, looking away from her and resisting the urge to add the words _many times._

"Jesse didn't know and I couldn't -" Rachel continued, to which Sam just nodded.

"I'd rather he didn't. It was stupid to think something would change," Sam commented and shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, I have bigger things to worry about," Sam reasoned, not letting on that as the memory had replayed each time, it had made him more and more terrified of having almost kissed her. He wasn't sure he would even be able to look at Mercedes again.

"Sam, I want to help you, I really feel awful, even though I didn't do anything and I usually don't care if people are jealous of me and my superior talent, but I really care about Mercedes. I want to help you. I mean your babies would be so interracially adorable." Rachel confessed and Sam thought of mentioning that the last thing he wanted was her help. He ignored her strange comments and nodded slowly, as if mulling over her offer, when a large _NO _blazed in his mind, in response.

He had been wrong in approaching her, he guessed now, and even though he had the chance of going with Mercedes to prom, Rachel had caused more trouble. He had been the one to ask Mercedes to dance hadn't he? He had finally got his confidence up and that wasn't Rachel Berry's doing. He would get Mercedes, he was sure of it, but this time it would be without anyone's interference or (attempted) help.

"No thanks" He responded slowly. "I want to do it on my own," he grinned and she nodded.

"Hey all!" Mercedes approached them and Sam's smile dropped. As if seeing her was serious, as if seeing her brought back all the feelings of the Saturday night before. All the naseu, butterflies and fear envloped him again.

"Hey, I'll see you guys later," Sam responded and jetted away before either of them could say goodbye. He needed a plan, before he could try to get Mercedes. He hoped an opportunity to get her would arise soon. He had no idea how soon it would be.

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><p>Mercedes stormed back into the choir room with rage.<p>

"I HATE JESSE ST JAMES!" she hollared, shaking her head. "That ignorant bastard!" she continued.

"Well, he can hardly see talent," Kurt mused from his chair, where he sat cross legged, examining his nails.

"What happened?" Sam asked, coming into the choir room, over hearing Mercedes' ranting. He stood at the door, his gaze fixed on her. She spun around to face him and answer his question.

"I went in to audition for the star role in glee club and he told me I need to practice! I mean! ME?" Mercedes rounded on him in her rage, unable to remember that she was supposed to be nervous around him, or trying to guage whether he liked her or not. She was too blinded with her hate for Jesse St James and his insults. However accurate his criticism tried to be, even if it was Berry biased.

It was only after school that day that Sam approached her.

"Hey" he sighed, his blue eyes piercing her through his bangs.

"Oh hey!" she smirked, wondering if he could tell that she liked him now. Wondering if he could just read her so easily. She tried to keep her reaction subdued, but she hadn't spoken to him since prom night, their interactions skirting around each other, no words spoken directly, as if he needed time to reevaluate if he liked her. Though he only needed time for his plan, and to work on that sporadic confidence.

"So if you do need to practice, like that jerk Jesse said- " Sam began and Mercedes couldn't help but zone out, staring into his dreamy eyes.

"I could give you feed back, listen if you want someone's opinion" He offered with a shrug, as if it was a casual offer, when she tuned back in, though he had commented that she was perfect and really didn't need practice at all. She had been too busy staring at him to hear his compliments though, or if she had heard them, she hadn't believed them.

"Yeah, that'd be great." she responded, though she didn't think she needed to practice, she wouldn't mind having Sam watch her sing, compliment her and tell her all the things she longed to hear. Now she only wanted him to be the one to tell her those words.

"How's this friday?" Sam continued, staying away from a late hour, so that it wouldn't have the impending feeling of a date. "After school?" he offered and she nodded.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds great, I'll call my mom and tell her I'll be late. I might have to cancel-" she stopped midsentence, hoping he didn't realize that she would go through the trouble of cancelling something for him.

"Friday" she nodded again, wanting to get out of the awkward panicked feelings of this conversation as soon as possible. She already felt nervous and quesy, just thinking about Friday. She wasn't even sure she could sing with him watching, no doubt he would fix her with the same intent gaze he seemed to have reserved just for her. That gaze that brought chills to her skin and yet a warm sunny feeling in her stomach. She couldn't help but wonder if that gaze was just for her.

He thought breifly of adding a lame line from Star Trek or even the song Friday that she had bugged him about, but just nodded instead, wondering if she would like how nerdy he was. Wondering if she would have even seen Avatar or Star Wars ( the classics, of course, not the Hayden Christensen ones) or even know a word of Elvish.

"See you then, I look forward to it," he opted for instead and flashed her a giant grin before he swiftly departed from her side at her locker. He didn't see her blush as he drifted away.

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><p>Sam couldn't explain to Mercedes how much he was looking forward to it, but by Friday his nerves were at an all time high. He had adjusted his hair in the mirror and gazed at himself, taking deep breaths in before heading out into the hall. He spotted Mercedes at her locker and she smirked to him, gaving a small wave. He approached her slowly and she picked up pace beside him, heading towards the auditorium, wondering if people saw them together and noticed them. However, no one seemed to pay attention to Sam. He didn't even notice that they didn't need words between them, understanding each other in silence as they headed towards the auditorium. It was only when they were on the stage did she break the silence, that for once, between them, wasn't awkward.<p>

"I'm nervous" she admitted, she stood in front of a microphone, even though she didn't need it.

"I hope that's not my fault," Sam teased with a smirk, somehow forcing his nervousness down enough to flirt.

"Well aparently I need practice." Mercedes commented darkly. "So we should get started-" she nodded towards the cd player on a stool beside her.

"Well, yeah sure, if you want," he responded. "But it was just an excuse to spend time with you," he commented and she lit up with a hint of red in her cheeks.

She was unable to say words after that, the phrases escaping her as she blushed and gazed down to the auditorium floor.

"Right," she nodded slowly, biting her lip. She looked back up to him with a smirk, as if the stage floor had provided her with courage. It was part of the reason he liked her after all, her extreme sense of self, her ability to be herself and her confidence. He would soon come to like how he took her breath away, how they would stay up talking on the phone teasing each other, and of course writing music together. But that was all much later, when Summer would invade Ohio and fill their days with sun and love.

"Good thing I let you," she teased, gaining confidence, even though she was still uncertain in him liking her. Or unsure, really how much he did. She was testing the water, coming into her own confidence to flirt with him. She could belt notes on stage and gaze into the mirror with immense happiness, but she had never been through this before.

"So, do you want to sing to me?" Sam asked with a nervous smirk, "I mean, unless you want a proper date..I don't really have money for a movie, damn, that's probably very unattractive and, well -" he paused in his nervousness and she laughed at him, her eyes glistening with happiness.

"You're too old fashioned Mr. Evans," she grinned. "I'll treat you to a movie," she assured. She felt a surge of confidence and grabbed his hand in hers, looking up to him with joy in her eyes.

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><p>Thank you for reading. More coming soon.<p> 


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